Goulash soup???

I went out to dinner tonight and ended up ordering "gouash soup". I have never heard of this before. I had surgery a couple of weeks ago and sadly the doc just told me today I need to extend out the full liquids/very very soft food for another 2 weeks due to some issues, so I was pretty darn excited when the soup came. It turned out to be delicious, and Ok for the phase that I am stuck in. Problem is I have not had this type of soup before and for the life of me (and my daughter) we couldn't figure out what the flavor profile was or even how they got the beef the way they did. It was like the small crumbled beef that is so common, but positively teeny tiny/practically pureed. Anyway, if anyone happens to be familiar with the soup, could you direct me a tad as to what is in it? I am about to go Google recipes, but I don't know if I would recognize a similar recipe or not, and just the title of the soup could bring a hodgepodge of different soups. 

I haven't ever had it but I googled for images and it looks delicious .. looking forward to recipes! 

All the recipes I found with pics looked good, but were a lot more chunky than what I had tonight. I have to keep looking!

This is a very popular dish in Germany, and my German mom taught me how to make it. It's very simple, although my version is more like a stew than a soup.

Brown a couple pounds of beef cubes in some vegetable oil (as for any beef stew), put into a slow cooker. Add a bit more vegetable oil to the pot and brown 2 big chopped onions; put into slow cooker. Add beef broth to about halfway up to the top of the ingredients. Add a couple big tablespoons of sweet paprika, a little salt and pepper, and (here's the secret ingredient) 2 packets of Maggi Goulash seasoning mix. You can buy this at German delis or online (http://www.amazon.com/Maggi-Frisch-Seasoning-Goulash-Gulasch /dp/B005TM2SK4/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1452216082&sr=8- 3-fkmr0&keywords=dr.+oetker+goulash+seasoning+mix). Stir everything together and slow-cook at Low for 8-10 hours. Num-num.

psychoticparrot

Will this break the meat down into a nearly pureed state, and is it a thicker broth? And thank you for the recipe-  I will order the seasoning. Thank you!!

Unless the beef is especially tender, it will come out like a slow-cooker beef stew in texture. The broth is very thick, like gravy. If you want tenderer meat, I would suggest (disclaimer: I haven't tried this myself) using a tenderer cut of beef, even steak, cut into smaller pieces. But I don't know whether that would break down into the nearly pureed state that you need. If not, you could make it later on when you can tolerate more texture.

psychoticparrot

I found one recipe using a pressure cooker and ox-tail or beef ribs, could ox tail be the flavor you tasted?

here is the link if you wanted to check it out.

http://foodperestroika.com/2013/08/01/goulash-sauce-and-a-st ew-too/

I don't think I have ever eaten oxtail before??  Maybe that was the flavor??? 

Yes, it definitely sounds like it was slow cooked. I suggest pouring the ground beef in without browning first, as that will allow a finer texture. Since you won't be cooking first and draining the fat,  I would opt for a lander ground beef like 93/7 to avoid that puddle of fat on the top. Alternatively you can get a less lean beef and skim the liquefied fat off after. 

I guess I never realized you could not brown the meat first, and perhaps that explains the finer texture that I saw. I will try this tip for sure when making it- thank you for posting it!  I do not consider myself to be a cook. I can put a meal on the table for sure, but the nuance stuff is not my thing. A simple recipe and tips such as this really helps!